There are three primary sources of long-term sustainable competitive advantage: customer captivity, economies of scale, and preferential access to resources. Lock on to one of these early and you can build a barrier to competitive threats. WebMD focused early on one of these three: customer captivity.

Consumers and business buyers alike are jaded, sick and tired of being hoodwinked into buying stuff that doesn't deliver as promised. Here are a few do's and don'ts for cutting through the noise in the digital age.

The mildly controversial Lily Allen revived a sputtering career as a singer/songwriter by posting demos on MySpace in November 2005, and earning legions of fans, media coverage, and ultimately international stardom. To date, nearly 20 million songs have been downloaded from her MySpace page.

For three years, Fast Company and Mercedes-Benz vans have partnered to award an innovative and growing business with a Sprinter van and $10,000 to customize it to propel their business to new heights. This year, we are welcoming a new member of the Mercedes-Benz vans fleet. The all-new 2016 Metris. Click here for the official rules.